Phil Bredesen vs. the Democratic Party

Former Gov. Phil Bredesen officially launched his bid for U.S. Senate Thursday, announcing his run with an online video. Video from Bredesen for Senate

Former Gov. Phil Bredesen shakes hands with a Nashville police officer after the memorial service for Max Barry, son of Mayor Megan Barry, at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Tenn. Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017.(Photo: Shelley Mays / The Tennessean, )

Former Gov. Phil Bredesen may find the core of his own party is an obstacle to winning a U.S. Senate seat. An obstacle he may be able to brush aside or ignore altogether.

Bredesen is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who isn’t seeking reelection. Bredesen, who served as governor from 2003 – 2011, is the sole Democrat to win statewide office since 1994.

Tennessee, a Democratic Party bastion for more than a century, has undergone a political reversal since 1994, President Bill Clinton’s first mid-term election.

'Join the Resistance'

The Tennessee Democratic Party (TDP) website reveals at least part of the reason. As of Dec. 17, the TDP’s first home page photo calls on site visitors to “Join the Resistance,” a term frequently used to call for opposition to President Donald Trump. The second photo to appear is of President Barack Obama, a principal reason Tennessee Democrats have gone from dominating to being dominated.

The TDP’s approach is in one way understandable in that its voting universe has diminished election after election. To keep the party’s activist “progressive” base – as small as it might be – motivated, it’s playing the resistance card and continuing to promote a president 2who led the Democratic Party to its worst position in some 100 years at the state and federal levels.

Does Bredesen play up to the “resistance” and Obama wings of the party and alienate the majority of Tennessee voters, nearly 61 percent of which voted for Donald Trump? A tip: don’t go to Vegas with that bet.

Bredesen has appealed to Republicans

Bredesen was elected governor because he appealed to Republicans as well as Democrats not captive to ultra-left ideology. Even so, in his first campaign for the state’s top job Bredesen only beat then-U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary by about 50,000 votes out of some 1.6 million cast.

Without the millions of his own dollars Bredesen pumped into his campaign, chances are Tennessee would have been hailing Gov. Hilleary. Nevertheless, in his reelection four years later Bredesen carried all 95 counties.

Among Bredesen’s most memorable decisions were initially running for office against a state income tax. His predecessor, Republican Gov. Don Sundquist, was adamant that a Tennessee income tax was a must-do for the state’s future. Bredesen – a Democrat – said no. Fourteen 14 years later Tennessee has no state income tax and is running a surplus while a number of states with income taxes were, and are, in economic turmoil.

Bredesen cut nearly 200,000 from TennCare

Bredesen ran saying he’d deal with TennCare, the health program for the poor that threatened the state’s financial viability. A University of Memphis TennCare timeline from 1992-2016 cited a report indicating “that by 2008, TennCare would incur total costs of approximately $12.2 billion, with $3.8 billion in state spending (equivalent to 36 percent of total state appropriations).”

Bredesen cut nearly 200,000 people from the TennCare rolls. It could be argued that Bredesen cruelly eliminated people from a needed program, or that his action protected it for the other one million on the rolls.

However, those probable negatives could be positives in terms of appealing to the Republicans and conservative voters needed to win an election.

Marsha Blackburn is GOP frontrunner

“Progressivism” hasn’t been doing Tennessee Democratic office seekers any favors in the past nearly quarter century. The descent is reflected in statewide presidential results. Barack Obama in 2008 got less than 42 percent of the Tennessee vote against John McCain. Obama did even worse in 2012 against Mitt Romney, capturing just over 39 percent statewide.

The current Republican Senate race front-runner, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and the Tennessee Republican Party will try to staple Bredesen to the TDP and the national party. If successful, the Republican wins. That is, wins absent some unknown massive moral turpitude allegation that becomes the campaign focal point, as occurred in Alabama between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones.

Bredesen will resist being sucked into the social issue ideological vortex (abortion, gay marriage, etc.), which is where much of the Tennessee Democratic liberal base will insist he go.

However, it can be argued that the TDP needs Bredesen more than he needs the party.

Actually, it’s not even an argument.

George Korda is political analyst for WATE-TV, appearing Sundays on “Tennessee This Week.” He hosts “State Your Case” from noon – 2 p.m. Sundays on WOKI-FM Newstalk 98.7. Korda is a frequent speaker and writer on political and news media subjects. He is president of Korda Communications, a public relations and communications consulting firm.

John Sevier, 1796-1801, 1803-1809. Elected governor of the state of Franklin at the end of the Revolutionary War, and as such became the first governor in what would be Tennessee, when statehood was attained in 1796. Secretary of State

Archibald Roane, 1801-1803. Served in the Revolutionary War under George Washington, then settled in Tennessee. After John Sevier had served the maximum of three consecutive terms, Roane ran for the office and was elected. Secretary of State

Willie Blount, 1809-1815. Half-brother of territorial governor William Blount. In 1796, he was elected judge and in 1807 was elected to the legislature. He was elected governor in 1809. In 1827, he ran for governor again, but was defeated by Sam Houston. Secretary of State

Joseph McMinn, 1815-1821. Elected to the territorial legislature in 1794 and in 1796 helped frame the first constitution of Tennessee. He served in the state Senate from 1807 to 1809 and became governor in 1815. Secretary of State

William Carroll, 1821-1827, 1829-1835. Nashville businessman and skilled soldier in the War of 1812. During his 12 years as governor, Tennessee progressed from a frontier society to one in which towns and cities were developed. Secretary of State

Sam Houston, 1827-1829. As a member of the 39th Infantry, he was wounded at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Elected to Congress in 1823 and governor in 1827. He cut his term short after his wife, Eliza, left him. Secretary of State

William Hall, April-October 1829. A prosperous farmer, he was elected to the state House in 1792. After six years in the House, he was elected to the Senate. It was from this office, where he served as speaker, that he became governor when Sam Houston left office. Secretary of State

Newton Cannon, 1835-1839. Worked as a merchant and surveyor before studying law and being elected to the legislature in 1811. Fought in the Creek War. After the war, he was elected to Congress. Cannon was the first Whig governor of Tennessee. Secretary of State

James Knox Polk, 1839-1841. The first college graduate to serve as governor of Tennessee. Having served in the state legislature, Polk was elected to Congress in 1825. Elected governor in 1839 and elected president of the United States in 1845. Secretary of State

James Chamberlain Jones, 1841-1845. Tennessee's first native born governor. Educated as a lawyer, he was elected to the legislature in 1839. During his administration Nashville was selected as the permanent state capital. Secretary of State

Aaron Venable Brown, 1845-1847. Graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1814 as valedictorian. He served in the state Senate from 1821 to 1827 and the state House from 1831 to 1835. He served in Congress from 1839 to 1845 and was elected governor in 1845. Secretary of State

Neill Smith Brown, 1847-1849. He studied on his own and taught school in Giles County to finance his college education. He was admitted to the bar in 1834. After serving in the state legislature for six years, he was elected governor in 1847. Secretary of State

William Trousdale, 1849-1851. Served as brigadier general in the U.S. Army. After serving in the state legislature, he was elected governor in 1849. The most important event during his administration was the Southern Convention in Nashville in 1850. Secretary of State

William Bowen Campbell, 1851-1853. Served as attorney general, then in 1835 was elected to the legislature. In 1837, he was elected to Congress and served three terms. Elected governor in 1851. He declined to run a second time, but was elected to Congress in 1865. Secretary of State

Andrew Johnson, 1853-1857, 1862-1865. Served as mayor, member of the state House, member of the state Senate, member of Congress, vice president under Abraham Lincoln, president upon Lincoln's death and member of the U.S. Senate. Secretary of State

Isham Green Harris, 1857-1862. Elected to the state Senate in 1847. After serving that term and two in the state House, he was elected governor in 1857 and re-elected in 1859 and 1961. Under his administration, Tennessee seceded from the Union, the last state to do so. Secretary of State

Robert Looney Caruthers, 1863. Elected governor in 1863, but was never inaugurated, as Andrew Johnson had been appointed military governor. He served as attorney general from 1827 to 1832. In 1835, he was elected to the legislature. He was then elected to Congress in 1841. Secretary of State

William Gannaway Brownlow, 1865-1869. Tennessee's Reconstruction governor. He was elected in 1865. He returned the state to the Union on July 2, 1866. Tennessee was the first state to return. He was re-elected in 1867 but resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate. Secretary of State

Dewitt Clinton Senter, 1869-1871. Elected to the legislature in 1857. As a speaker of the Senate he became governor when Brownlow left office to go to Congress. The most important event of his administration was the Constitutional Convention of 1870. Secretary of State

John Calvin Brown, 1871-1875. Enlisted as a private in the infantry. Elected to the legislature in 1869. Served as president of the Constitutional Convention of 1870. He was elected governor in 1871 and again in 1873. Secretary of State

James Davis Porter, 1875-1879. Elected to the legislature in 1859. He served as circuit judge and from that office was elected governor. During his term the first black medical school, Meharry Medical College, was founded. Secretary of State

Albert Smith Marks, 1879-1881. Achieved the rank of colonel with the 17th Tennessee Infantry and lost a leg fighting at Murfreesboro. He served as chancellor of the Fourth Chancery Division and from that office was elected governor for the 1879 term. Secretary of State

Alvin Hawkins, 1881-1883. Elected to Congress in 1862 but was denied his seat because of the chaotic political situation. Served as U.S. attorney for West Tennessee and later as Supreme Court judge. His party recommended him for a second term, but he was beaten. Secretary of State

William Brimage Bate, 1883-1887. Joined the volunteers when the Mexican War began. After the war, he established a newspaper, the Tenth Legion, and in 1849 he was elected to the legislature. Served as brigadier general in the Civil War. Secretary of State

Robert Love Taylor, 1887-1891, 1897-1899. Began his law practice and was elected to Congress in the same year, 1878. The Democrats nominated him for governor in 1886, the same year his brother Alfred was nominated for the same office by the Republicans. Secretary of State

John Price Buchanan, 1891-1893. A farmer and a moving spirit in the Farmers Alliance, the support of which won him the governor's seat in 1890. He had served two terms in the legislature and one as governor when he returned to farming. Secretary of State

Peter Turney, 1893-1897. Served as colonel during the Civil War. After the war, he was elected to the Supreme Court, becoming chief justice in 1886. He was re-elected in the first contested gubernatorial election in Tennessee. Secretary of State

Benton McMillin, 1899-1903. Served in the state legislature. He was elected to Congress in 1879 and served until 1898, when he was elected governor. During his two terms, the boundary line dispute between Virginia and Tennessee was settled. Secretary of State

James Beriah Frazier, 1903-1905. Graduated from the University of Tennessee at age 21. Elected governor in 1902. Resigned in 1905 to take the seat of Sen. William Bate, who died in office. Secretary of State

John Isaac Cox, 1905-1907. Served as county judge and district attorney before being elected to the state House for the 1893-1895 term. In 1900, he was elected to the state Senate. As speaker, he became governor when Frazier resigned in 1905. Secretary of State

Malcolm Rice Patterson, 1907-1911. Served as attorney general and as a representative in Congress before becoming governor in 1907. During a time of intense political excitement, he withdrew from from the campaign for a third term. Secretary of State

Ben Walter Hooper, 1911-1915. Served in the legislature and the Spanish-American War before being elected governor in 1910. Prohibition had split the Democratic Party, and Hooper's election was helped by "Independent Democrats" who endorsed him. Secretary of State

Thomas Clarke Rye, 1915-1919. A Prohibitionist, as attorney general he acquired a reputation as a man who upheld the law. As governor during World War I, he saw 80,000 Tennesseans enter the forces to fight Germany. Secretary of State

Albert Houston Roberts, 1919-1921. Served as chancellor of the Fourth Division before being elected governor. During his term Prohibition became law by ratification of the 18th Amendment and the War Memorial Building was erected in Nashville. Secretary of State

Alfred Alexander Taylor, 1921-1923. Served in the legislature from 1875 to 1879 and three terms in Congress from 1889 to 1895. In 1896, he was beaten by his brother Robert in the race for governor. When he was inaugurated governor in 1921, he was the oldest person to hold the high office. Secretary of State

Austin Peay, 1923-1927. Served in the state House from 1901 to 1905. He was elected governor in 1922. He was elected to a third term but died in 1927, the first governor to die in office. Secretary of State

Henry Hollis Horton, 1927-1933. Served in the state House and later in the Senate, where he was elected speaker. It was from this office that he became governor when Austin Peay died. Successfully elected in his own right in 1929. Secretary of State

Hill McAlister, 1933-1937. From the family of a long line of governors (William Blount, Willie Blount and Aaron Brown), he served in the state Senate and as state treasurer. Losing the race for governor twice, he finally won the nomination in 1932. Secretary of State